Where Are You?
by Franta
Summary: Alex and Bobby lead equal, but separate lives until one day… in the middle of the night they abandon all reality...COMPLETE! warning: angst for a reason...
1. Chapter 1

Sorry for the confusion at the end! It's been updated to hopefully clear all that up. Thanks!

Disclaimer: I own nothing! (quite literally)

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Alex lay in bed, the arm of her fiancé Jordan was draped across her waist. He was out cold and was snoring slightly.

She had met him 6 months ago at a party her sister had dragged her to. It was a birthday party for her sister's friend, and Jordan was the birthday girl's brother. He was tall, thin, and pretty good-looking, but mostly, he was extremely nice and didn't try to impose himself upon her or her job. He respected her and gave her space, which was what she needed.

Something had just clicked between them and even though Alex was in some deep part of her heart pining for Bobby, she knew Jordan would be good for her, and she genuinely grew to love him after only a matter of weeks. He was the distraction she needed. And once she started spending more of her free time with him than with Bobby, she soon was able to push Bobby far from her mind.

She loved her life. Bobby was the perfect guy to work with, and Jordan was the perfect guy to sleep with. She had found the delicate, yet perfect balance between the 2 men in her life.

Suddenly, her phone rang. She flipped it open and the screen read Robert Goren. "Great, just what I need, another case..." she hit the button and answered. "Eames."

"Eames? What's up?" he asked.

"Nothing," she answered skeptically.

"Where are you, what are you doing?"

"Uhm... I'm sitting in bed- it is 2 in the morning after all..." She was genuinely confused. "And you?" she asked cautiously.

"Lori's out of town- can you meet me at the deli by the office?" he asked.

"Sure, why- is it a case?"

"Uh, no. I just need to talk to you..."

She was thoroughly confused. "Ok...I'll meet you there."

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Bobby Goren flipped his cell phone shut and sighed. What the hell was he doing? He was perfectly happy, and so was Alex. Why was he about to stir up trouble? He wasn't sure he understood it, but he knew what was going on.

No matter how happy Alex was with Jordan, and no matter how happy Bobby was with Lori, he could not shake that feeling in the pit of his stomach that something wasn't right.

He had no desire to leave Lori; she was wonderful for him. When Alex had met Jordan and they began dating, Bobby decided to hit the circuit again too. Even though a part of him was jealous, he was happy that Alex was happy, and once he saw what Jordan was able to be for her, he thought that a presence like that in his life wouldn't be such a bad idea either. Dating different people would make them forget each other once and for all.

It had seemed to work for Alex. But Lori had been out of town now for a week, and Bobby was starting to remember the old days when it was just he and Alex against the criminal world. And the fact that she went home to someone else instead of him was incidental- he was able to devote him self completely to work… to Alex… with no distractions… ooh, this was bad.

He pulled on his nice over coat that he usually wore for work. He liked that it was nicer- somehow it made him feel warmer- even though it was not as thick as his casual coat.

He walked down the stairs of his apartment building and burst through the door onto the street where the cold air smacked him across the face- as if it knew exactly what he was about to do.

"Oh, this is not good… what am I going to do now?" he wondered as he headed down the street.

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Alex climbed out of bed as quietly as she could, but by moving Jordan's arm she had woken him.

He shifted and grunted.

"Bobby called- I have to go."

"New case?" he mumbled.

Alex hesitated. "Yah, I'll see you tomorrow. Go back to sleep." She kissed his forehead, got dressed, and left the room. She grabbed her nice work coat- by saying aloud that it was work she had put herself in that mode without even thinking about it. Besides, she liked looking nice.

She walked out of her apartment, rode the tiny smelly elevator down to the street, and as she stepped out the cold air smacked her as if to say this were a bad idea. "I know how to defend myself," she responded to the invisible warning.

She got on the subway, got off at her stop for work, and as she walked up the stairs to the street she saw the neon sign for Benny's Deli, and a dark shadow standing outside the door.

She walked up to Bobby who was shifting nervously. "Hey, Bobby." She said. "What brings you to this neck of the woods?"

"You,' he answered as though her question were a serious one.

"I know that- you called me. What's up?"

He pawed at the sidewalk with his foot. "Uh- Lori's out of town and…" he paused. Aw- to hell with it!

He stepped forward to her anxiously. "I don't know about you, but this isn't working. I… I need to see you."

Alex stepped back in surprise as if she were shocked- which she was- but… her heart began to race. "See me? What do you mean?"

"As much as I love Lori… I get _jealous_ when I see you with Jordan; I feel _dirty_ when I go home to Lori… I…" he stopped and looked at Alex expectantly.

She knew what he was telling her, and her heart raced. She smiled enormously and threw herself into him and hugged him tight before reality came crashing back down. She pulled away from him and was no longer holding him, but their legs brushed against each other they were still that close to each other.

"Just once…" he whispered at barely above a whisper.

"Ok," she responded cautiously, avoiding eye contact.

"We don't have to leave anything we don't already have," he said, leaning closer into her.

"Ok," she repeated, this time looking up at him. She was mesmerized. It was dark on the street across from One PP and they were standing there alone, abandoning all reality, just as she hoped that they one day would.

He leaned forward and their lips brushed lightly.

"Ok," she said once more before she stepped away from him with a delicate smile and walked backwards towards the subway watching him turn back into a shadow in the night. She could still feel the kiss on her lips.

They would probably go out after work tomorrow, she decided.

She smiled again before she turned around and headed down the subway stairs but as she did so things grew dark around her- everything thing around her began to fade into darkness. She panicked. She struggled to see the steps ahead of her… They, too, faded and the instant everything was pitch black and the world had dissolved around her-

She opened her eyes and realized that tears were leaking down her face and onto the pillow. Jordan's arm was still draped across her waist; her cell phone lay untouched on the nightstand; and her coat still hung neatly in the closet…


	2. Rachmaninoff

A/N: Rachmaninoff is pronounced "Rock-mah-ni-noff" and is often referred to in short as Rocky. So, Rachmaninoff's 2nd piano concerto is called "Rocky 2" for short… Just something you might need… unless you're a music nerd like me…

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Bobby popped the CD in the player, patiently waited for it to load, and then hit the play button. The first chords of Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto blasted through the speakers. Ah, the beauty of surround sound and no television to corrupt it.

He sat on the couch with his eyes closed, but quickly got up again. Classical music in loud volumes always gave him an uncontrollable urge to clean. He used the remote to increase the volume, and then began filling a mop bucket in the kitchen sink.

The suds slowly rose to the top, he turned off the water, and just as he was hoisting the bucket out of the sink, his phone rang.

He set the bucket down and removed his cell phone from his belt holster. "Goren," he answered.

"Hey Bobby, it's me."

"Hey, Eames. What's up?" he asked, balancing the phone between his ear and shoulder as he slid the bucket across the floor to the back of the kitchen. Can't paint yourself into a corner.

"Not much, I was just wondering what you were doing. Where are you?" she asked casually.

"Uh, I'm in the kitchen, getting ready to mop." Just then the recapitulation of the concerto filled his apartment. "Shit, sorry. Gimme a second."

He set down the mop, picked up the remote, and paused the CD.

"What was that?" she asked.

"Rocky 2"

"Rocky 2 the movie or Rachmaninoff?"

"Brownie points if you can guess." He pressed play again.

"Rachmaninoff," she stated.

He paused the CD again. "So, what are you up to, besides bugging your partner on our only day off?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Relax, Eames. I'm just teasing you."

"Oh," she laughed. There was an awkward silence.

"Wanna come help me mop?" he asked.

"What?"

"My apartment is a mess, I've got music-a-plenty, you sound bored. Wanna come over?"

"Isn't Lori back yet?"

"Nah, she gets back from Paris tomorrow. So, you coming over or not?"

"Uh, sure. You want me to pick up lunch?"

"That's ok- we can order when you get here."

"Ok, see you in 5."

"Bye," he said, flipping his phone shut, tossing it across the counter and watching it land in the basket with his keys. "Three points," he muttered with satisfaction.

He finished mopping the floor, took off his shoes and socks, and walked across the wetness to dump the bucketful of soapy water into the sink.

He restarted the CD and Rachmaninoff picked back up with his beating of the piano. Goren felt something furry slink between his legs.

"Ah- Lucy, no! I just mopped it!" He picked up the bright orange furball and tossed it over towards the carpet.The catlanded gracefully, but shot him a dirty look before prancing back off towards the couch.

Then he heard his doorbell ring. "Come on in!" he shouted, tiptoeing across the wet floor.

Alexandra Eames entered his apartment with a shy look on her face.

"Hey Eames. Gimme 2 seconds. Satan over here is screwing with my clean floors." He hunched over and pounced the cat, grabbing it around its overlarge belly. It meowed loudly as he carried it down the hallway and shut it in his bedroom.

He came back, kneeled down on the floor and examined the kitchen lenoleum. "Stupid cat," he muttered. "There's orange hair all over it again."

Alex laughed. "That's what you get for getting the furriest cat you could find."

He stood up again and wiped his hands on his shorts. "Correction- you and Logan thought it would be funny to _buy_ me the furriest cat you could find for Christmas. And I don't even do Christmas. By all rights that cat is yours."

She laughed again. "Oh yah, I forgot Logan was in on that too."

He shook his head and said, "Here, I'll take your coat. Why don't you take a look at the menus on the fridge and see if you can't find anything."

She handed him his coat, flipped off her sandals, and walked across the wet floor to the fridge.

"Where's Uncle Shanghai's?" she asked.

"Threw it out."

"Shoulda known," she mumbled. "Uh, Thai or Japanese?"

"Japanese- I need noodles."

She pulled the menu off of the fridge and stepped back onto the carpet. She dialed the number and the phone began to ring.

"Where's Jordan?" Bobby shouted from across the room. He was attacking his dusty CDs and books with a swiffer now.

"At work- uh, yes… Alex Eames, 555-4325, uh, 16A Lawrence St… I'd like the Miso soup with noodles and… uh, the Unagi with noodles instead of rice…. How long?… ok, thanks." She flipped her phone shut.

"I got the miso and unagi- both have noodles so you can pick when they get here."

"Miso's mine," was his reply. She smiled. She already knew that.

"So, uh- what do you want me to do?" She asked awkwardly as she walked over to where he was dusting.

"Uh- how bout the rest of the kitchen. I only got the floor."

"Sounds good to me," she said before turning around and heading back towards the kitchen. Lucy the cat could be heard meowing deeply from down the hall.

"Stupid cat," he mumbled.

"I heard that- and if you really hated her that much you would have dumped her on me a long time ago. I think actually like her."

Bobby grumbled.

"What was that?" she asked again with a smile.

"Nothing- the Tilex is under the sink."

She pulled out the cleaner and set to work on the counters, dishes, and even the cabinet finish. She was elbow deep in suds and yellow gloves, he was sneezing from all of the dust, and they werehalf way throughRocky 3 when the buzzer went off signaling that their food was there.

Bobby got and paid for the food while Alex de-toxified herself and headed back towards the small couch in the living room. He sat down next to her.

"So, set a date yet?" Bobby asked before slurping down some noodles from the soup.

"What?" she asked, surprised.

"The wedding?"

"Oh- not yet, just kind of in limbo right now until we can both find some time to sort it all out."

"Is he moving in with you- or are you moving out?"

"Oh- he's moving in."

"It's nice that you don't have to leave what you already have."

She choked on a noodle. "What?"

"I said it's nice that you don't have to move."

"Oh," she regained her breath. "Yah- it is nice."

Why was he doing this to her? It was like he knew about the dream or something. Like he knew exactly what to say to set her off- catch her off guard. She already hadn't been in her right mind when she called him- but then when he invited her over she freaked. After hyperventilating for a few minutes she pulled herself together and walked the familiar route to Bobby's apartment like she had done on numerous occasions before she had met Jordan and before he had met Lori. She almost never went over to his place anymore. It was almost taboo now that they each had significant others.

But here she was, sitting on his couch next to him eating Japanese food while he seemed to quote her dream word for word without knowing it.

And she hadn't really left anything behind yet...


	3. Tchaikovsky

A/N: i lovingly little this one "Tchaikovsky: Somewhere Between Violence and Love." Listen to Tchaik Piano concerto no 1, the opening will explain everything.

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Bobby woke with a start. He sat up straight quickly and shot a quick glance at his cell phone. His heart jumped into his throat. Alex could call at any minute. She said she would call… didn't she?

No, she hadn't. He wasn't sure why he was expecting her to call him. She had simply said, "Talk to you later," before she left that afternoon after having lunch with him and helping him clean. He didn't know why he had interpreted that as an "I'll call you." And he wasn't sure why he was so desperate for her to call.

What would she call about? Besides work, there was rally no reason for her to call him. But she _had _called him about nothing really that morning. Then she had come over and they had had a wonderful time. At least, he thought it had been wonderful.

He looked at his cell phone again before rubbing his face and climbing out of bed. It was only 3:30 in the morning, but he knew he wasn't going to be able to get back to bed. Lori didn't get in until 5:30pm later that day.

This attack of Alex-itis had been so sudden. He had been perfectly fine until yesterday. Why now was he awake and longing for some sign of his partner in a way that he had never experienced before?

He walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. He felt the hot water run all over his body. It was soothing and he felt much calmer. He looked up and saw one of Lori's razors. He grabbed it and threw it out of the shower stall towards the garbage can.

He didn't want a woman living with him. He wanted Alex- his phone rang.

He jumped out of the shower and ran stark naked across his bedroom. He hurriedly grabbed the phone, but it slipped out of his hands and fell to the floor where the battery popped out of the back.

"Shit!" he exclaimed. He reached down and picked up the pieces to reassemble to phone. He clicked the battery into place and hurriedly tried to turn the phone back on. It was the most agonizing 30 seconds of his life. Once it was back up and running her frantically checked the calls log. His heart sank. It had been Lori calling.

Just then, it rang again. He answered it. "Goren."

"Hey, Bobby. It's me," Lori's voice rang over the line.

"Sweetie, it's 4 in the morning. What are you doing up?"

"It's almost lunch here… I miss you," she said.

He began to walk back towards the bathroom. "I… miss you too." He turned off the water and wrapped a towel around his waist.

"I just wanted to hear your voice."

_Oh, Shit._ "You should try to get some rest. Your plane leaves in a few hours."

"I know, but I don't really care about that…" she whimpered.

"Lori, get some rest. Trust me, you'll thank me when you hop back over a quarter of a day of time zone changes."

She sighed. "Ok, love you…"

"You too. Bye."

"Bye."

He snapped the phone shut and immediately hurled it across the room in frustration. He ran his hands through his hair and fell backwards on the bed with a deep breath. Lucy was lying on a pillow purring deeply and looking quite serene.

He woke up to the sound of his alarm. He was still sprawled out across the bed in his towel and he was cold. Cold except for the portion of his stomach covered by a big orange blanket- wait, that was Lucy… He lifted the cat off of his stomach and sat up. She squeaked at him before jumping off the bed and heading down the hallway towards her food dish.

He looked at the time. It was 7am. Alex would be up by now. He picked up his cell phone and held down the number one. It began to call Alex.

"Eames," she answered.

"Eames, it's me."

"Bobby," she said. "New case?"

"Uh, no. Uh, I still have the other half of my apartment to clean, and we haven't gotten into the rest of the piano concertos yet and…"

"You want me to come over again?" she asked curiously.

"If you want."

"Uh, sure. Let me got out of bed and get dressed and I'll be right over…"

"Ok, cool." _Cool?_ Since when had he used the word cool? "Uh, See you then."

He snapped the phone shut and after yelling at himself internally, he quickly jumped up and ran to the bathroom to finish the shower he had started earlier that morning.

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Alex rang the buzzer. "Come on in," he buzzed back, unlocking the door.

She once again walked awkwardly into his apartment with a small smile. "Hey, Bobby."

"Hey. How are you?" he asked, taking her coat from her.

"I'm tired. It's still pretty early."

"Yah," he mumbled.

"So, where's the Rocky?" she asked.

"Oh- finished that. Tchaik?

"Tchaikovsky?"

"Yah."

"Sounds fine. I have to say though, piano doesn't put me quite in the same mood it does you, but it'll do," she said, surveying the apartment.

"What kind of mood does piano put you in?" he asked before he could stop himself. He looked shocked with himself.

"A man banging away at the keyboard doesn't exactly yell 'Clean! Clean!' to me. It's more…"

"More what?"

"Something of a cross between violence and love."

"The two often go hand in hand," he replied sagely.

"That's the truth," she said sadly before clapping her hands together and going, "So, what did your cat shed on this time?"

"The bathroom," he said, motioning down the hallway.

She followed him to the bathroom and saw an array- or should I say disarray- of crap. The litter box was in one corner, the food and water was in another. There was a pile of laundry underneath the towel rack and the countertop was disgusting.

"Go put on the Tchaik,' she ordered with a look of total disgust.

And they began cleaning. They changed the litter, cleaned the food and water dishes, washed the laundry, scrubbed- they did it all.

Bobby was scrubbing away at the shower stall while Alex was scrubbing away at the floor.

"Leave it to a man to have you on hands and knees," she grumbled, half joking.

"Eames, can you pass me the cup? I need to rinse the cleaner off the walls."

"Yah sure." She grabbed the cup, got up and opened the door to the shower stall. "here," she said, passing it to him.

His finger brushed hers and before she knew it she had lunged at him and within 5 seconds had him back against the wall while she ferociously kissed him.

She felt a hand push at her and she stopped herself and back away, wiping her mouth. "Sorry," she panted.

"Tchaikovsky did that to you?" he asked, totally stunned.

"Actually, the Rachmaninoff did it- the Tchaikovsky just made it worse… What? Wait- no… I…"

He looked at her, signaling for her to think it out and say what she was gone say.

Taking the encourangement, she said, "You… you quoted my dream yesterday," she said sheepishly.

"I quoted your dream?"

"I… I had this dream, the night before last- before I called you and came over… we were all alone in the street outside of work… and… you told me that I didn't have to leave behind what I already had."

"I don't understand."

"You… you kissed me," she said quietly. "Just once, though- and nothing like that!" she said more loudly.

He thought about it, and looked her up and down, trying to read her body language.

"Sorry," she said before turning to leave the bathroom.

"Wait!" he shouted after her, probably louder than he needed to. He ran out of the shower stall and caught her arm in the hallway, turned her around, and kissed her just as fiercely as she had kissed him. Then he felt a punch in the gut.

He collapsed to the floor holding his stomach. She hit much harder than he would have expected- even after seeing her take on so many suspects larger that she.

"No!" she yelled, looking at him on he floor in front of her.

"What?" he asked.

"No! Don't kiss me! I will not let you do this to me! You should never have let me kissed you- and you sure as hell shouldn't have kissed me back! I will not let you do this! I will not let you drag me down!"

"Alex," he said, standing up and reaching out for her shoulders.

"No! Let go of me! I don't want to! I don't-" she screamed.

"Hey!" he said, pushing her so that she stumbled backwards. "You're the one who did this to me! I was perfectly fine until you invited yourself over and- and…"

She pushed him back. "No! I did not! You let me! You let me come over! You-"

He grabbed her shoulder so hard it was sure to leave a mark.

"Let go of me!" she shouted. Tears were streaming down her face, but she was nowhere near being done yelling. She started kicking at him. "Let go of me!" He winced as she smacked his shin with her shoe. She then broke down in hysterics and fell to the floor. "I can't believe you let me do this!" she sobbed.

"Do what?" he asked, trying to look her in the eye.

"This! Everything- all of it! I've got a wonderful fiancé at home and you still let me do this!"

"Alex, it's ok… Shh," he said, pushing her hair out of her face.

"No, it's not ok!"

"Yes, it is," he said forcefully, giving her shoulders a shake. "It's part of being human. It's part of being in love."

She suddenly punched him in the face, making his nose bleed. "No! It isn't! I am not in love with you!" She stood up as he tried to curb the bleeding in his nose.

He reached out and grabbed her ankle before she could try to walk away and she fell to the floor with a loud thump. He took the opportunity to pull her to him and grab her arms to restrain her.

He turned her over onto her back and pinned her arms above her head, looked her straight in the eye and said, "Yes. It is. And you are in love with me."

His eyes darted from her eyes to her lips then back again. "You wouldn't dare," she growled.


	4. Barber and Deak

Ok, there are two pieces that go with this chapter. For the first section: I have grown into a huge Samuel Barber addict (not that _Adagio for Strings_ crap; Sibelius's _Impromtu _is way better). I love how it's lyrical with a modernist feel. The first section is Barber's Piano Concerto. For the second section: Ok, the piece that goes with thissection isn't available on a recording. There is no known recording of it. The only reason I know about it is because I was lucky enough to see it performed live, and I have the narration from my program notes. It's really hard to explain the whole thing. The breathing I refer to later on is actually an effect created by running the hair of the bass bow up and down the wood of the bridge. It's a very breathy effect. The piece is in 3 movements. The first is an eerie tango that has the sound of the ocean behind it (again, more breathy bows on bridges). The second is a dinner party theme with a solo bass above it, and the 3rd is the tormented love scene, where the Counts coffin opens, and he flies to Lucy. Lucy is portrayed by the first violin and the Count is portrayed by the Solo Bass. It really is spectacular, and if you ever get the chance to hear it, it will turn you on whether you want it to or not. And if anyone wants the full narration transcript, let me know. _Lucy and the Count, Love Dreams from Transylvania_ by John Deak.

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Bobby sat on the couch breathing deeply. He touched his sore nose. He hadn't looked in the mirror, but he was sure he had a black eye too.

"Don't pick at it," Alex snapped from across the room. She grabbed the pot of ice water and the rag and crossed the room to the couch where he was sitting.

"Here," she said, placing the rag over his eye and nose. "I'm sorry," she said.

He took the rag from her. "It's ok… just not so hard next time."

She smiled, but then a look of concern crossed her face as she sat down next to him and leaned into his shoulder. "What am I going to do?"

"About what?"

"This! We cheated, Bobby. Plain and simple."

"What did I say in your dream?"

"That we didn't have to leave anything we already had?"

"Yah- so… don't."

"Bobby, that's not right."

"It obviously didn't stop you earlier. Not only did you have sex with me, but you physically attacked me before hand- if that's your idea of foreplay, then we're only going to be able to do this about once a month…"

At that she laughed. "I'm not going to attack you again."

"But you are going to come over again?"

"How many more concertos do you have?"

"About a hundred- Mozart alone wrote 21. Although, I think the Barber would have been more appropriate today."

"Oh God," she groaned.

He laughed and pulled her closer to him so he could kiss her forehead. "It's ok… just… see how things go with Jordan. You can keep coming over or not. I'm willing to wait."

She smiled. "You're such a wuss. Take a stand Bobby! Fight for me if that's what you believe in!"

"I did fight for you- I held you down on the floor so you wouldn't kick me while I made love to you. The whole time you did nothing but moan _'I hate you'_. I thought you loved me."

She smiled and then replied, "I do," in her defense

"So don't fight it."

"It's not that simple, Bobby," she said getting up.

"No, but it _is_ that easy."

She groaned and fell back on the couch. "My head hurts." She took the rag from Bobby's hands and placed it on her forehead.

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Eames walked back into her apartment, threw her keys and purse on the coffee table and hung her coat up. She crossed the living room to her stereo and pressed play. The No Doubt CD she had been listening to a few days ago was still in the player. Or maybe not… "This is a tale of Horror and Love," rang out the voice of the narrator. "Close your eyes and imagine…"

Stunned, she turned back towards the player and snatched the CD case off the speaker with a little more force than she had intended. "…her dreams are troubled. Someone- or something- calls her name." _Lucy and the Count_, the cover read. "She awakens! It was… nothing."

She suspiciously set the cover gently back down on the speaker, and turned back towards her path to the bathroom. A Tango started in the music.

She leaned forward across the counter to examine herself in the mirror. There was blood smeared all over her face. But it wasn't her blood. It was Bobby's. "Blood!" rang through the speaker, catching her off guard. "The count puts it to his lips…" and the dinner party melody begins to trade off within the quartet as a solo bass moves above it all.

She grabbed a washcloth, soaked it in the sink and began to clean her face. "'Just cleansing the wound!' he says…"

She went about her apartment, cleaning herself up, changing her clothes, wrapping her now swollen knee from where she had fallen on it. "And there, they are lost; he in his evil, she in her purity… in passionate, all-consuming, hopeless… sick… twisted… ecstasy."

She glared suspiciously at the CD player again and out of the corner of her eye she saw the door open her fiancé walked in.

"Hey, sweetie." He gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Where'd you get this?" Alex asked, coming to and turning to look at Jordan.

"Oh, a friend loaned it to me. Pretty wicked stuff, eh?"

She nodded absentmindedly as the music came to its orgasmic climax. It slowly began to descend and the sound of breathing filled the speakers until it stopped completely and a consuming silence filled the room.

Jordan was the first to break the silence. "Pretty cool, huh? So, what did you do today? How was your day?"

"It was… fine. Bobby and I were c- interviewing witnesses. You know, the usual. Well, not completely. Bobby's a lit bit more strange than usual."

"How so?"

"He's- I don't know. I suppose he's not more strange than he usually is…"

"Fair enough, he always was kind of an oddball."

A sudden surge of anger swept through her like a flame. Her chest inflated and her nostrils flared. "He's not an oddball!" She blurted.

Jordan stopped and looked at her. "Sorry, sweetie. I didn't mean that-"

She quickly stepped forward and put her arms around him. "Sorry. I didn't mean to snap. That time of the month."

He smiled understandingly and stroked her hair.

She pulled away from him and asked, "Can I borrow this CD? I have a friend who would like it."

"Sure, just don't loose it."

"I'll copy it." She went and grabbed the case off of the speaker, removed the CD from the player, and walked out the door.

Jordan stood there in the empty apartment, unsure of what had just happened.

Back at his apartment, Bobby was vigorously scrubbing the blood drops on the carpet floor when he heard his buzzer.

Without asking or thinking he buzzed back and unlocked the door. A minute later Eames walked wide-eyed into his apartment holding a CD with both hands as if she were a child beholding something very scary and special all at the same time.

"Eames-"

"Shh," she cut him off. She placed the CD in the player and cranked up the volume.

They both stood there in silence as 17 minutes passed and the piece came winding down with it's slow, rhythmic breathing…

Bobby turned to her and asked, "What does it make you want to do?"

"It makes me wonder where you are and what you're doing. It makes feel my own breathing. I makes me want to taste your blood again." She stared at him.

"Well, you can lick it up out of the carpet," he said, motioning to where he had bled only an hour earlier. "And I'm pretty sure there's another stain there too…"

Her cheeks turned red, but her expression did not change.

"I take it you're not sorry you hit me, then."

"Not at all," she replied in a breathy whisper.

"And you think I'm evil and you're pure?"

"I heard you calling me in my dreams. And then when i woke up..."

"It was nothing," he whispered.

Her expression softened immediately, and before tears could well in her eyes she turned and left the apartment.


	5. Bach

It was almost midnight when Jordan emerged from the bedroom where he had been asleep and he found Alex nursing her swollen left knee from where she had fallen on it.

"Alex, are you ok?" he asked as he set his keys down and hung up his coat.

"Yah, I'm fine. I tripped earlier and I'm just now getting to tending it. There's some fresh groceries in the fridge."

"What happened? Is that a bruise on your elbow too?" he reached out and delicately touched her elbow.

"Yah, it was the lucky one that broke my fall." She quickly withdrew her arm.

"Ah- I'm sorry, honey. You want some tea or something? I can get it for you-"

"Nope," she said decisively, getting up and setting the ice pack on the table. "I'll get it."

She hobbled over to the kitchen, but winced as she did so. The inside of her thighs hurt from where Bobby had bit her. Not to mention her knee from where he had caused her to fall.

She pulled the teakettle out of the cabinet and her shirtsleeve slid back revealing the bruises from where he had grabbed her. She set the water boiling on the stove and quickly pulled the sleeve back down.

She could only assume that she had marks on her left arm too. Shit, this wasn't good.

She was sure to have other marks all over her body. Bobby's fault of course. But she certainly had left her fair share, she reflected with a small smile of satisfaction. The blood stain on his carpet was an excellent trophy. _Serves him right; bastard._

She was popped out of her reverie by Jordan, who had turned on the TV. She quickly resumed moving about the kitchen, getting a cup and some tea bags.

She began to take a mental inventory: her left knee from where she had fallen on it, her right elbow from the same fall, her arms from being grabbed and from being stretched above her head for a significant amount of time, her thighs from where he had bitten her, her shoulders and her neck from being on the hard floor (and from being bitten a few times), her back from where he had held on to her, and numerous other places.

_Face it Alex, it was rough and you liked it. _But then she remembered what Bobby had said to her. "It was nothing." He was toying with her. One minute he was acting like he was totally in love with her, the next he was saying that it meant nothing. First he wanted her to leave Jordan, then he was saying he'd never be with her even if she did. She she was angry and hurt all at the same time. She began to sob loudly in frustration as she poured the boiling water in the cup over the tea bag. It hissed as it soaked the bag.

"Alex, is everything alright?" Jordan asked, looking over his shoulder from the couch.

"I'm fine." She took the cup and went to the bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

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Bobby didn't get off easy either. He couldn't cover up his messed up nose. And he certainly couldn't work out what he had just done.

And Lori was coming home that night (in fact, he was in the car on the way to the airport now). She had sounded lonely and like she was going to want to be with him when she got back. He couldn't let her see the condition his body was in- and quite frankly, he had no desire to be with her at the moment.

Instead he would pick her up at the airport, explain to her that he had walked into a door and didn't feel well, drop her off at her apartment, and then go to the bar down the street from his apartment- much to her annoyance.

Bobby had gotten into one of his modes again. Love 'em and leave 'em. All of a sudden Lori became just some girl that he liked, no one of any consequence or concern, and certainly not anyone he was interested in pursuing a long term relationship with. It was going to be easier to break up with her than he wanted it to be.

He wanted to be hurt that he was going to hurt her- because he knew that she would be- but he knew that he wouldn't be when the time came. He would feel relieved, and would slip back into his routine of haphazard relationships simply because he couldn't have Alex.

"I think you like not being able to have her," Logan's voice rang in his ear. "Every time you guys get close you just push her away."

"She started it! I was just fine till she invited herself over and started passing out black eyes-"

"Goren, shut up. You had her. You _had_ her. And when she opened up to you, you pushed her away. You really can't stand to have her."

"That's not true."

Logan continued his train of thought without regard to Goren's defense. "_Or_, you didn't know what you'd do once you did get her. _I_ think that you like wanting her better than having her. And _now_, you're treating the symptoms and not the disease."

"You know, Mike, you could give me a run for my money. And right now, that's not a good thing." He got up, threw a bill at the bar counter, and left.

_Even if the symptoms do go away, the disease could still kill me. It's certainly killing Alex._

He stepped into his apartment, put Bach's 5th Cello Suite on at a ridiculously loud volume, and sat wide awake on his couch, staring at nothing in particular as the fugua swirled around him, the notes wrapping softly around his face, brushing past the stubble on his cheek where Alex's hand had been only hours before…


	6. Barber

Ok, I know there's no specific reference to it in this chapter, but the music of choice is the first half of Samuel Barber's _Medea's Dance of Vengeance_- just the first half; the second have is where Medea goes crazy and kills her children- we don't want Alex to do that…

* * *

Two days later. Alex was on her second sick day in a row. Jordan was on his second day of vacation. They sat together on the couch watching Discovery Channel. She was uncomfortable. She felt slimy at her fiancé's touch on her shoulder. She felt like she was cheating on Bobby, even though she had clearly cheated on Jordan. She was angry with herself for still wanting Bobby when it was so plain to her that he didn't want her.

No matter how much she told herself that Bobby not wanting her back would enable her to devote her attention to Jordan, she couldn't shake the feeling that she would rather be alone and wanting a Bobby who didn't want her back than with someone and having her affections stray. It made her stomach hurt, and it wasn't right to the person she was mentally cheating on.

The door buzzer went off. She started to get up, but Jordan stopped her. "I'll get it. You rest." He walked to the intercom and pressed the button. "Yes?" he asked.

"It's Goren. I need to speak to Eames."

"Sure, I'll buzz you up-"

"No!" she shouted louder than she wanted to. "I'll go down. I need some fresh air anyway. I'll be right back." She got up, hobbled across the room, and disappeared into the hallway.

Rather than take the elevator, she slowly made her way down the stairs, wrapping the deep purple shawl around her shoulders. With each step she took her anger at him increased. She felt like doing vengeful, ex-boyfriend things to him, like 'accidentally' scratching the CD he had loaned her, or putting some sticky substance on his office chair, or sneaking into his apartment and mismatching all of his socks, or-

She reached the bottom of the stairs and gave him a reproachful glare.

"Eames, I-"

"Wait, Bobby. Just wait," she said, holding out a hand. "Before you say whatever it is you're going to say, I want you to listen to me. I don't want to know how sorry or not you are; I don't want an analytical replay of what happened. If you're going to tell me anything, it's what you feel right now, how you _truly_ feel about me."

"The truth?" he asked, eyebrow raised.

"The truth," she repeated.

"I-" He paused. "I think you're over-defensive. I think you're sarcastic when you don't need to be. I think you think the worst of me when it's not true-"

"That's the most selfish thing I've ever heard from you, Goren."

"Let me finish. I think you think the worst of me because I don't show you the best of me…"

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Jordan peered through the curtains of the window and saw Alex standing cross-armed a few feet in front of Bobby. He looked apologetic; she looked pissed off.

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"I think… that I create problems for myself- and others- because I'm afraid I won't know what to do once I've solved them."

"And what do you intend to do with this _problem_?" she asked skeptically.

He paused. "I…" he began, but couldn't find the words.

"How do you intent to _solve_ this one, Bobby?" She asked, even more agitatedly. "Because I've got to be honest, I don't see how _I_ could solve this one. One minute you're telling me that you love me, the next you're telling me that what happened meant nothing!" She shouted the last word.

"Wait just a minute- I never said that I-"

"Loved me? Yah, I know Bobby." She turned away.

"Eames, I-" He reached out for her arm, but she pulled away.

"Why won't you just come out and say it?" she shouted. She was on the verge of tears and her lip was trembling. Her hurt was matched only by her anger. "Just say it Bobby!"

"Eames! You need to calm down. You're angry about things that haven't happened. You're tricking yourself into believing something that isn't true-"

"Are you calling me crazy?"

"No! I'm saying that you're not thinking this through clearly. If you would just slow down for one minute and get off your angry war path you'd see what I'm trying to tell you!"

"Life's not a game, Bobby! You can't expect people to put your little clues together! I can't tell what you're thinking by how strong you drink your fucking coffee, or how high pitched your voice is! This isn't a question of semantics, it's very plain and simple: Did it mean _anything_? Do you love me or not?"

"Eames, it's not that simple-"

"But it _is_ that easy. Just say it, Bobby. Yes or no."

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By this time Jordan had cracked the window and was listening to everything that was being said on the sidewalk 3 floors below him. A tear streaked down his face as he watched Bobby defeatedly whisper, "Yes, Alex. Yes, I do," and then lean in and kiss her.


	7. Adams

Time for another disclaimer: I own nothing associated with CI, but if I did… oh boy!

Two pieces of the Chapter- First Section: _Naïve and Sentimental Music, 2nd movement (Mother of the Man)_, by John Adams (not the US President, but the contemporary American composer). Second Section: _The Chairman Dances from Nixon in China (Foxtrot for Orchestra)_ also by John Adams.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

She reappeared in the apartment some time later.

"Alex, honey. Is everything alright?" he asked. His cheeks were flushed and he looked like he had been crying, but Alex didn't look closely enough to tell.

"Not right now- I'm not feeling well…"

"I don't think you have to right to feel bad right now," he said matter-of-factly.

She turned. "What?"

"I don't think you have the right to be moody right now, Alex. Because what I just saw made me realize that everything I've ever had with you was a lie."

She suddenly turned around in shock. "You saw…downstairs?"

"Yes, Alex. I saw."

She panicked. "Jordan, it's not like that-"

"What is it like, Alex? Is it only _like_ you cheated? Is it only _like_ you threw me aside for someone else? What's it like?"

"Jordan," she said pleadingly as she stepped toward him, but he pulled away.

"What were you planning on doing now?" he asked. "Even if I had never found out- what would you have done? What are you going to do?"

"I- I don't know."

"I LOVED you, Alex! I thought you loved me." He was on the verge of breakdown again.

"I did- I do!"

"But you love Goren."

"I do- I did!" Her head spun in confusion. "Jordan, you're not being fair!"

"Nothing in life is ever fair, Alex…" He paused and after a while asked quietly, "What's it like to love someone? How did it happen?" He looked almost evil in his calm. He deep green eyes poked out from under his eyebrows. Any sympathy she might had had for him vanished whenshe saw the look ofpure contempt in his eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"How did it happen with him?"

"Jordan-"

"Just tell me."

She sighed. "I went over there, and we were cleaning, and.. I don't know- it just happened," she finished exasperatedly. "I... I punched him, too..Jordan, we'd been working together for 5 years. Before I met you, Bobby and I were all we had. I fell in love with you, I really did… but I guess I never really fell out of love with Bobby."

He stood there for a long time. What seemed like hours to Alex passed. He finally nodded at her, calmly packed a suitcase, and left the apartment.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bobby was lying in bed wide-awake. He reached across his nightstand, grabbed his phone, and dialed Lori's number.

_"Hi! You've reached Lori Bennet, I'm either at work, at the gym, or can't find the phone right now, but leave me a message and I'll get back to you. Thanks!"_

"Hi… Lori… It's Bobby… I was just calling to say… I don't think we should see each other anymore… it's just not… working out… so, uh…. Bye…"

He hung up. "I'm such a fucking coward." He said aloud.

"No you're not," came the reply. He bolted upright in his bed. Alexandra Eames was standing in his bedroom doorway.

"Eames- what are you doing here?" he asked, sitting himself up properly.

"Jordan found out," she said sadly. "He was watching from the window."

"I _am_ a fucking coward."

"No," she said, smiling now, "just stupid."

A quick smile shot across his face, but it had vanished almost as fast as it had appeared. "So he kicked you out then?"

"No," she said, he head still bent, half of her hair hiding her face (which was smiling in irony). "He left. It wasn't really his apartment to kick me out of anyway… I just didn't want to be alone."

He looked at her intently for a minute, and then said, "Come here," motioning towards the bed. She climbed up on it, and sat next to him. "You gonna be ok?" he asked.

"Yah- I'll be fine," she said, curling up under his arm and closing her eyes. "What about Lori?"

"She'll be crushed, and probably get really mad. I'm pretty sure she'll destroy whatever of mine is over at her place right now."

"I hope it's nothing good."

"Just some crappy recordings of some Mozart Piano Concertos. None of the good stuff like the Tchaik or the Rocky- that was only ever meant for you…"

"It's so funny how we've been waiting for each other," she said smiling, not opening her eyes.

He smiled. "Mike was pretty invested in us…"

"Logan?"

"Yah- he got all on my case after you stormed out…"

"You tell him everything?" she asked accusatorily, sitting up.

"No, but he's my friend, and I tell him enough. He's not going to tell anyone, Eames."

She calmed back down and settled back into her curled up position. "You didn't tell anyone else either?" he asked.

She paused for a moment before she said, "No- nobody," and closed her eyes and fell asleep in Bobby's arms.


	8. Barber II

I would suggest reading the whole thing through again before reading this chapter, because it's been so long since I last updated, and I think this plot turn will seem a little disjointed if it's not read in context…

OK, after months of not updating and letting this story simmer on a back burner, it's taken a completely different turn than I originally planned. A lot of you will hate me for this- in fact, I'm pretty sure 99.9percent of you will hate me…but the story _is_ labeled 'angst'…

And the music for this chapter is the second half of Barber's _Medea's Dance of Vengeance_- the half where Medea kills and eats her children…

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Jordan sat on the edge of the bed in his Motel room. He stared angrily into space as the voices of his mother and father rang in his head…

_"John, please, no…" His mother pleaded. "I can explain…John, honey, I'm sorry…" She was backing away from a tall looming figure with her hands held out in front of her in a stopping gesture._

"_I'm done listening to your explanations, Rita. I put up with a lot of your crap, but this takes the cake. You can't step outside this marriage…you've broken God's law..." He stepped out of the shadow of the living room and into the kitchen where Rita was cornered. He clearly had a knife in his hand._

"_Jordan?" She called out tentatively. "Jordan, honey. Can you bring Momma the phone?"_

_John swung the knife in her direction and shouted over his shoulder, "Don't you dare, boy!"_

_A 13-year-old Jordan's head poked out from behind the doorframe to the kitchen. He had the phone in his hand, but didn't hold it out. He looked from his mother, to his father, then back to his mother._

_Frightened, Rita began to sob and said, "You can't do this to our son. How could you do this to our son?"_

"_OUR son?" his father bellowed. "OUR son? How can I be sure now? How can I be sure now that I know you'll spread your legs for just about anyone?"_

"_John, I wouldn't- he's only ever been yours!" She was pleading now. John stepped closer still. She looked at her son and suddenly stood defiant to her husband. "You'll never get away with it! Jordan! Run and call the police! Jordan! Go!" she shouted at him. _

_Jordan turned and ran from the kitchen, through the living room where the TV was showing the news and their dinners were still sitting unfinished on the trays, and finally out into the front yard. He heard a muffled scream, but didn't raise the phone, which was still in his hand, to his ear. He stood there on the lawn, thinking. Thinking about what his mother did, what his father had just done, and God would have to say about it all…_

Jordan gained stability and lost his religion while in New York City foster care.

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Alex was still in her clothes from last night when a knock at the door woke her. She moved Bobby's arm, which was wrapped around her waist where she had been curled against him, and got up. She crossed the living room floor and without looking through the peephole, opened the door.

Jordan immediately stepped into the apartment, gun drawn and in her face.

She backed away form him and froze. "Jordan, what are you doing?" she asked, panicked.

"I came to talk," he said.

She thought for a moment, her hands in the air. "Ok," she said, trying to mask the fear in her voice. "What do you want to talk about?"

"My Mom and Dad…" he said. "Did you know my mom cheated on my father?" he asked non-chalantly, gun still pointed at her head. "He killed her in the kitchen. It took me 2 days before I could call the police."

"Jordan, you don't have to do this. You don't have to do what your father did."

"Why?" he asked. "You did what my mother did. I see no difference."

All stood, frozen in fear and then called out, "Bobby?" Her voice was cracking.

"Don't," he commanded.

"Jordan, just put down the gun. This is crazy. There's no reason to-"

"To what?" he asked, his voice rising in hysterics. "To demand an explanation? To get some…vindication? You lied to me! Plain and simple. I'm sick of being lied to!" He raised the gun and his arm began to shake uncontrollably.

Just then, Bobby walked into the living room and saw what was going on.

"Jordan!" Alex pleaded upon seeing her partner enter the room. "Please! Put it down! You're gonna end up hurting someone!"

"Hurt!? Hurt?! Listen to you! You sound just like my mother did when she was begging for her life! You're all the same! You think you can do whatever you want, and then beg for forgiveness when you get what's coming to you!"

"You've lost your mind!" She shouted incredulously through her fear.

"Eames; not helping," mumbled Bobby, who stood rooted to the spot. "Jordan, just put it down. We'll talk."

"Talk about what?! Talk about how she wasted some of the best years of my life! Lied to me while she fucking you!? Maybe I should just kill _you._" He pointed his gun at Bobby. "Then she'd loose exactly what I lost!"

"No!" Alex shouted. She ran in front of Bobby, shielding him with her arms.

He tried to push her behind him, but she stayed put. "Killing him won't fix anything!"

"Jordan," Bobby said calmly, though fear laced his voice. "Your mother didn't deserve to die like she did. You didn't deserve to watch her die!"

But Jordan wasn't listening. "It's happening to me, just like it happened to my father..." he ranted, more to himself than anybody. "No!" He suddenly got a new wave of confidence and within a split second had lunged forward and grabbed Alex from in front of Bobby. Bobby reached to grab her, but couldn't. Jordan stepped back, the gun pressed to Eames' neck.

"Say you'll never see her again!" he shouted.

"Jordan-" Eames struggled, and he pressed the barrel forcefully into her neck.

"Say it!"

Bobby hesitated and looked at his partner... Time seemed to stop as fear and love filled his eyes. She looked at him pleadingly, her eyes darting from him, to the gun at her neck, to the coffee table near her, where her gun was laying next to her badge.

He didn't know what to do. He automatically rubbed the back of his neck, and looked where Eames was reaching for her gun while Jordan was mildly distracted. Jordan saw Goren's eyes move, followed them to Eames' outstretch hand, smiled, and then pulled the trigger.


	9. The Protecting Veil

A/N: Two pieces of music for this chapter: Okay, as much as I _HATE_ Philip Glass (with a passion! Let there be no mistake!), I have to say that I've fallen in love with the soundtrack to _The Illusionist _(He's owed me one ever since I was forced to play one of his God-awful Adagios…), so this chapter's thematic music is_ "The Chase" _from_ The Illusionist._ The second piece of music- the one that Eames is playing through the stereo- is John Tavener's _The Protecting Veil _as played by Yo-Yo Ma and the Baltimore Symphony.

* * *

Two months later…

Bobby lay in bed, his cheek pressed against the pillow, and a quiet snore escaping his lips.

He snorted and opened his eyes. The other side of the bed was empty, and he immediately sat up and scanned the room for his partner. The bathroom light wasn't on, so she wasn't in the bathroom. He got out of bed and went into the hallway. "Eames?" he called out. Nothing.

* * *

Alex gave one final push at the screwdriver and the door gave. She fell forward, catching herself before taking a nosedive into the concrete of the roof of OnePP.

She surveyed the roof before her and smiled. _This will do just fine._ She put a crumpled up piece of paper in the latch and went back down the stairs to the 11th floor. She gathered her things: A small stereo, a CD, a string of Christmas lights, and an extension cord.

She made her way back up the stairwell and back onto the roof. She checked her watch. It was 2:00 am. _Perfect._ Ever since the shooting, Bobby woke up every night at 2:00 without fail, and without prompting or an alarm clock, to double check that she was still there. Part of her healing process was dismissing this protective behavior, but tonight, she relied on it. 2:05. She flipped open her cell phone and called Bobby…

* * *

A small amount of worry coursed through his heart to the pit of his stomach. He was walking back down the hallway when he heard his cell phone ring. He sprinted back into the bedroom and jerked it off the nightstand.

"Goren."

"Hey Bobby," said a familiar voice.

"Eames! What are you doing? Where are you?" he asked, calming himself. "You had me worried."

"I have a surprise for you," she said enticingly.

"Eames; now is not the time. Where are you?"

"I'm at work," she stated. "Come on. I have a surprise for you."

He sighed. "Alright. I'll be there in a few."

He snapped his phone shut, pulled on some pants and a t-shirt, grabbed his keys and coat, and left the apartment.

Twenty minutes later he stepped off the subway and crossed the street. He scanned his after-hours access card and stepped inside OnePP, mindlessly beat the path to the elevator, up to the 11th floor, and then to his desk, where he found a slip of paper. "Go to the roof. Stairwell B is open…"

He shook his head with an exasperated smile and headed towards the stairwell.

When he finally stepped through the door and onto the roof, he heard music.

"What's this?" he asked, as Eames stepped into view.

"Yo-Yo Ma," she said with a slick smile while handing him a bottle of beer. "Piano Concertos make you want to clean…I needed something else."

A lonely note pierced the air as a cluster of notes surrounded it. It was as if the high-pitched cello solo were a baby and the rest of the orchestra were wrapping it in a blanket in case its fragile line were to somehow break. _The Virgin Mary was floating in the air above them and all around were people with their hands held up to catch her if she fell. _But it didn't. The line never broke as it wafted higher and higher, then back down again, then louder, then softer- as if floating in mist.

Bobby looked around and could not find the source of the music. "I've hidden it," she said in that all-knowing tone. "Don't even bother."

He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her tight to shield her against the soft wind that was blowing. They looked out over the city. "Beautiful, isn't it?" she asked, leaning into him.

"Not as beautiful as you," he said, kissing her forehead. She smiled and looked up at him. "I can't believe I almost lost you," he said quietly.

"But you didn't," she responded, turning to face him. She set her beer on the ledge of the roof and did the same with Bobby's. She took his hand and placed it on her hip, took the other one in hers and began to rock side to side. They shuffled side to side on the roof, the lights of New York City shimmering behind them, the cool night air wrapping around them and pulling them closer.

Bobby leaned into her shoulder, savoring the sensation of holding her while he glanced at the City behind them. Looking out on it and for once not seeing a city full of crime, not seeing a giant puzzle waiting to be solved, not seeing the place he had almost lost her in…

Then, the melody broke its sereneness and was replaced with force. It was still the same high lingering notes, but it was no longer delicate. The orchestra was now edging it on. _Leave the nest. Go…_ The lights began to fade, the music came in and out of prevalence, and everything became fuzzy. The feeling of Alex's coat slipped through his fingers, and he felt dizzy. The light faded completely and he was lost in limbo…

He opened his eyes and realized that tears were leaking down his face and onto the pillow. The other side of his bed was empty; the clock read 2am; his cell phone lay untouched on the nightstand; and a picture of him and his former partner- a picture of the way things used to be- stood on his dresser next to a battered copy of the funeral announcement…

_fin._


End file.
